A nationally-renowned outdoor challenge programme
was the inspiration that led to Miramar’s Breanna Ward
achieving something only a few dozen people have done.
The 21-year-old swam across Cook Strait on December
1, completing the 29km North-South journey in 7 hours
and 26 minutes.
It makes hers the 113th crossing of the strait, with
several swimmers having done it multiple times.
Continued on page 2.
Breanna Ward at her workplace, the Kilbirnie Aquatic
Centre, after completing a seven-and-a-half hour
crossing of Cook Strait earlier this month.
PHOTO: Jamie Adams

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Continued from page 1.
What’s notable about Breanna’s swim was how early
in summer it was done – most
people do not attempt it until
February or March when the
weather and water is typically
at its warmest.
“Cook Strait has always been
a major dream of mine, but doing an Outward Bound course
last year was what really kickstarted me into achieving it,”
Breanna says.
“I mentioned it at the end
when we talked about goals that
we wanted to go away and do.
“Because of this, as well
as the huge positive impact
Outward Bound had on my life,
I decided to make my Cook
Strait swim a fundraiser for
Outward Bound.”
Breanna, who works as a
lifeguard at Kilbirnie Aquatic
Centre, has raised about $2300
so far, including proceeds from
a public two-hour Swimathon
at the centre on Sunday.
“I raised about $1000 before
the swim and then during the
swim so many people were
donating.”
She says that was as much
a factor in her motivation to
succeed as was the personal
aspiration. Despite being in the
water for nearly a third of a day,

Breanna says at no point did
she feel like giving up, having
prepared throughout the year
by swimming up to 65km a
week.
Throughout the winter she
trained at the aquatic centre,
which meant biking there and
back in the dark to train before
and after her shifts.
Thereafter she transferred to
the sea, at one point embarking on a five-hour-long 16km
harbour swim which led to a
damaged shoulder just a week
before the big event. Prior to her
training, the longest distance

she had continuously swum
was just 3km.
She says she will never forget
the beach she landed at when
she touched the South Island.
“It was beautiful and overwhelming looking back towards the distant North Island
and feeling the accumulation
of a year of training, knowing
I had done it.”
She also credits support from
family and friends who accompanied her by boat, including
veteran Phil Rush who organises crossing attempts.
While she is open to repeat-

ing the feat, Breanna says she
now has other ideas for ultraswimming, including taking on
the “really challenging” North
Channel between Scotland and
Ireland.
She also plans to cycle around
New Zealand with a friend and
would like to run a marathon.
 Breanna aims to raise $2500
for Outward Bound by the
end of January. It will go to
scholarships for people who
wouldn’t be able to afford the
course fees. To donate go to
obchampion.everydayhero.
com/nz/breannaward.

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(04) 970 0439

Fate of convention centre proposal to be known

22,700 copies weekly

Cook Strait News
The largest circulating newspaper in
Wellington Southern and Eastern suburbs.
YOUR LOCAL NEWSPAPER

Wellington City Council will
today decide whether to proceed with a new Convention
and Exhibition Centre.
It is proposed the $154.3
million centre be developed on
land the Council owns on Cable
Street, opposite Te Papa.
The building with 18,000
square metres of floor space
will cater for conventions of
up to 2200 people and the 1651

sqm exhibition area will attract
international exhibitions.
The City Strategy Committee
was to vote on the centre this
morning.
“I’m strongly in favour of the
centre and throwing my full
support behind it,” says Mayor
Justin Lester.
“What is proposed is a stateof-the-art convention centre
complemented by an exhibition

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space that will attract touring
exhibitions such as Harry Potter, Marvel, World of Wearable
Arts, Ballet Russe and Star
Wars.
“Our council has an ambitious social programme to make
Wellington a fairer place to
live, but we also need a strong
economic platform upon which
we can base it,” says the mayor.
“Wellington’s convention in-

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dustry is worth $240 million
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out on big conventions because
we don’t have the appropriate
space.
“This project has been more
than five years in the making
and what it now needs is a
favourable decision from the
council.”

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Ambulance would be greatly appreciated.

Local iwi collective Taranaki
Whanui vow to reverse the sale
of Shelly Bay land by the Port
Nicholson Block Settlement
Trust (PNBST), a decision
they say is an injustice to the
original owners.
Spokesman Anaru Mepham
says the successful challenge
in the Court of Appeal by Enterprise Miramar to a housing
development plan by new owners The Wellington Company
was “remarkable”, but also
places Taranaki Whanui in a
new position.
“It’s a position of opportunity
where people can potentially
influence the outcome of this
next stage of planning and
development of our land here,”
Anaru says.
“We challenge the sale of
this land; the sale of this land
is unlawful.”
In 2016 the PNBST asked
members to vote on permission
to sell three sections of land
they had bought from the
Crown. It had been bought for
$15 million with money received from a treaty settlement.
Despite Taranaki Whanui’s
five iwi opposing the sale, the
trust went ahead anyway, with
the land sold to The Wellington
Company for $2 million, well
below its valuation of $7.4m.
“This whenua has been sold
by our own people for a pittance, which is disgraceful,”
iwi member Dan Love says.
“The vote clearly came back
not to sell.”
Anaru believes the sale has
breached article 2 of the Treaty
of Waitangi regarding how
land transactions are dealt.
Last Thursday Taranak i
Whanui members gathered
at Shelly Bay to plant a Tino
Rangatiratanga flag in a sym-

3

inbrief news
Talk therapies critical
for preventing suicides
Samaritans Wellington welcomes the
Mental Health and Addiction Inquiry
report to Government, believing access
to talk therapies is critical for preventing
suicides.
“We would like to see the Government
working together with community organisations like Samaritans to properly fund
the talk therapy services that are already
in place” Wellington board chair Peter
Barker says.
He says Samaritans has a vital role in suicide prevention — listening and talking
to people who are distressed, depressed,
lonely and contemplating suicide, but as
a volunteer organisation that receives no
government funding, it is “forced to lead
a hand-to-mouth existence”.

Wellington ‘one of top
destinations’
A panel consisting of five of the world’s
top travel influencers and bloggers has
chosen Wellington, as one of the six top
emerging travel destinations in Australia,
New Zealand and the Pacific for 2019. The
annual awards honouring up-and-coming
destinations were published last night
on the site TravelLemming.com, which
covers emerging and under-toured
destinations around the world.
Winning destinations were determined
by a panel consisting of five of the top
travel bloggers, vloggers, and influencers
in the world, with a combined following
on social media of over 1.2 million. Wellington was nominated for the award
by the Wellington Regional Economic
Development Agency.

Members of Taranaki Whanui admire the Tino Rangatiratanga flag, right, after it was erected by
Anaru Mepham, left, at Shelly Bay on Thursday following the Court of Appeal ruling.
PHOTO: Jamie Adams

bolic gesture of claiming the
land back.
“We are calling for the trustees of the Port Nicholson
Block Settlement Trust to step
down from their positions and
get the people to revote and
have a say in how this trust
should be managed,” Anaru
says.
Hereni Jenkins-Mepham
says with the resource consent quashed, the chance to
move forward constructively

is “huge”.
“We are tangata whenua.
Without land we have no identity,” Hereni says.
Another iwi member, longterm Shelly Bay resident Kenney-Jean Sidwell, says she has
felt “so much grief” since the
sale.
“This is wrong for iwi, wrong
for the community and for the
environment.”
Anaru says they are prepared
to fight the sale in court if

necessary and are now seeking
to meet Treaty Negotiations
Minister Andrew Little to
discuss whether they have a
case.
They say the saddest aspect
of the situation is the lack of
communication from the trust,
which has only been prepared
to speak through its lawyers.
The PNBST has been approached by phone and email
for comment. There was no
reply as of yesterday.

Christmas craft market
After successes with previous events in
July and October, Kilbrinie is gearing up
for its third Craft Market, this time with a
Christmas theme.
Organiser Sonia Markholm says
everything to be displayed has been
hand made by local crafters and there will
be a number of great items for Christmas
gifts including dolls’ clothes, crocheted
and knitted teddies and toys, jewellery,
paintings, cards, peg dolls, Christmas
decorations, hand bags, fans, crystals
and art works.
Kilbirnie Christmas Craft Market will be
at Kilbirnie Community Centre, 56 Bay
Road, from 10am to 2pm on Saturday,
December 15.

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inbrief news
Ngā Taonga
relocating to safer site
Ngā Taonga Sound & Vision’s Wellington office will be moving in May 2019
from its current location in Taranaki
Street to the National Library building
on Molesworth Street due to earthquake risk.
“The move from Taranaki Street is the
culmination of a great deal of research,
planning and negotiation made necessary by the reclassification of our
premises as earthquake prone in 2014,”
Chief Executive Rebecca Elvy says.
Ahead of the move, the ground floor
space at Taranaki Street will retain
its building reception function but
the café service and cinema will not
reopen after the Christmas and New
Year break.

ACC levy changes
‘backward step’
The NZ Automobile Association is disappointed with the announcement by
the Government to end ACC’s Vehicle
Risk Rating scheme.
“Scrapping Vehicle Risk Rating is a
backward step at a time when a rising
road toll is demanding more action to
improve road safety,” says AA principal
advisor – regulations Mark Stockdale.
He says much more needs to be done
to promote vehicle safety to Kiwis.
The move will see the annual motor
vehicle levy for the 38 percent of cars
currently in the safest band rise $28 –
more than double the ACC levy their
drivers currently pay.

App offers free
background checks
A new app for property owners allows
users to conduct free background
checks through the mobile application.
Proper is connected to three national
databases with over 10 years of records.
After gaining the tenant’s approval,
owners only need to input the tenant’s
full name, date of birth, email address,
and mobile number to conduct a
search.
They will then receive reports through
email detailing tenancy tribunal history, court fines, police history, media,
and social media presence.
The free feature of the app is an important gain for owners feeling uneasy
about the current reforms being made
to renting, Proper CEO Aaron Yee says.

Waiting game as Kilbirnie
booze ban on cards
By Jamie Adams

Kilbirnie residents will have
to wait until the middle of next
year before they know if they
will finally get a much-desired
public liquor ban in their shopping precinct.
Last Thursday Wellington
City Council, in its city strategy
committee meeting, agreed to
an amendment to a proposed
modification of the current
liquor ban area.
They agreed to a motion from
eastern ward councillor Simon
Marsh to consult with the community about creating an alcohol
ban area within the Kilbirnie
business area.
That area would be bordered
by Mahora Street, Coutts Street,
Childers Terrace, Evans Bay
Parade and Rongotai Road.
Council officers will report
back by June 30, 2019 after
which councillors will decide.
Councillors also agreed to a
“comprehensive range of initiatives seeking to manage alcoholrelated issues in the Kilbirnie
community”, such as an increase
in Local Hosts and improved

access to tenancy services for
those living on the streets.
Kilbirnie Business Network
manager Gary Holmes was
pleased councillors were finally
taking a stance after years of
lobbying by local businesses and
residents.
“We will put in a strong submission through the consultation
process,” Gary says. “We are
confident the council will make
the right decision.”
Gary says the problem of
alcohol-related crime in Kilbirnie is as bad as ever and it was
important the ban area extended
beyond Bay Road.
“We are getting regular reports
of businesses getting broken
windows, even on [Evans Bay]
Parade.
“In Auckland most suburban
centres have 24/7 liquor bans in
place and there’s been no issues.”
Bernard O’Shaughnessy, a selfdescribed “agitator”, has been a
vocal critic of council inaction
on the issue.
Several councillors had previously opposed implementing
a ban on the grounds that it
would not work, as the people

Bernard O’Shaughnessy points out what he says are two big
contributors to Kilbirnie’s ongoing public drinking problem due
to their sales of alcohol until as late as 11pm. PHOTO: Jamie Adams

who drank in public in Kilbirnie
were often homeless alcoholics
who would either ignore a ban
or take the problem elsewhere.
Bernard says a local business
survey showed 85 percent of
operators believed the drinking
problem among beggars has
become worse over 2017/18.
“A ban allows normal good
people to go about their legit
business and pleasure in a responsible manner, showing
respect to the free unmolested
safe passage of others.”
He believes Kilbirnie’s situation is made worse by the fact

there are two supermarkets in
close proximity to Bay Road
where liquor is readily available to vagrants. Countdown’s
licensed hours in Kilbirnie are
7am to 11pm while Pak’nSave
across the road sells alcohol
from 7am to 10pm.
A Countdown spokesperson
says it takes its responsibilities as
a retailer “really seriously”, and
it has strict procedures in place
for selling alcohol in its stores.
Pak’Save Kilbirnie owner
Dean Galt would not comment
on Bernard’s claims, but is supportive of public liquor ban.

More counters to show bike trip numbers
Additional electronic counters and improved online data
will help show how Wellington City travel patterns change
over time as more paths, lanes
and other changes are made
to make it safer and easier for
more people to make some
trips by bike, a Councillor
says.
Wellington City Council
installed electronic counters
on eight key routes earlier
this year, including Evans Bay
Parade and the airport subway.
It has just installed counters in
another 11 locations, including

Seatoun Tunnel, Cobham
Drive’s bike and footpaths
(near Miramar cutting) and
Crawford Road’s bike lanes.
Data collected is also being
more comprehensively displayed on the Council website
transportprojects.org.nz
Wellington City Council’s
Portfolio Leader for Walking
and Cycling, Councillor Sarah
Free, says it is early days yet.
“Over time, the Council
wants to be able to track how
the numbers change as safer
facilities for people on bikes
are developed, the population

grows, and the city eventually has a connected cycle
network.
“The counters will give us
year-round 24/7 counts, showing seasonal variations, and
what’s happening at different
times of the day on different
routes.
“We regularly get asked for
this information so we are
keen to make it readily available and easy to understand,”
says Sarah.
She says we can expect to see
more people – and different
types of people – biking once

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more safe routes are in place.
“At the moment most of
our counters are on the road
in lanes shared with general
traffic but we are seeing an
increase in the number of trips
made by bike. We expect this
to increase even more once
there is a better and safer bike
infrastructure in place.”
Sarah says the city’s population is expected to grow to
280,000 people by 2043 so
the Council needs to plan for
the equivalent of five to six
suburbs the size of Karori over
the next 25 years.

e: jay@cvo.co.nz
www.cvo.co.nz

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Thursday December 13, 2018
A4 Poster.pdf

Berhampore playground
set for makeover

Sunday 24th February 2019

1

5/12/18

8:38 AM

5

www.xterrawellington.co.nz

Marine Gardens, Raumati Beach

Join the fun

There’s something for Everyone
Triathlon

The Jeypore
Street Play Area
has been saved
from demolition.
P H OTO : Jamie
Adams

By Jamie Adams

A playground in Berhampore is set for an
upgrade after successful efforts to stop its
closure.
Wellington City Council attempted to
close the Jeypore Street Play Area in 2014
with plans to create a “super playground” at
Wakefield Park.
However local residents and MP Paul
Eagle campaigned successfully to save it
for families.
Recreation Portfolio holder and Southern
Ward Councillor Fleur Fitzsimons, who
was not a member of Council at the time,
says small well-fenced playgrounds such as
Jeypore are very important and well-loved,
particularly by toddlers in the area.
“Families in Berhampore and beyond sent
a very strong message to the Council that
this playground plays an important role in
their lives and should be saved.”
Fleur is also pleased the Council is investing in upgrading it.

“I encourage families to have their say in
the upgrade of playgrounds to ensure that the
Council understands the views of families
who use these playgrounds.”
The woman who led the campaign to save
Jeypore St Play Area was Wilhelmina van
der Aa, who died in October 2016.
A mother involved in the campaign, Ann
Thomson, says Wilhelmina would have
been thrilled with the outcome and future
plans.
“It’s an important part of our neighbourhood and community and she really
pressured the council to keep it as a park,”
Ann says.
“What’s great about it is that is fully fenced
so kids can’t bolt on to the street.”
The fact it is in a cul-de-sac near Berhampore School also made it important.
“I know teachers take special needs
students to the park throughout the day.”
The planned improvements include installation of a wooden play structure with a slide
and a climbing wall, and an upgraded swing.

Timothy, Ella, and Alicia Jamal enjoy some sausages in bread from the barbecue
fundraiser of the women’s touch rugby team.

Families came together to enjoy
the Raukawa Community Centre’s
Christmas in the Park on Saturday.
The party was in full swing as people
joined in the celebration of Christmas
and the community came together to
organise the event.
The day was filled with performances
from local musicians, choirs and dance
groups, food from sausage sizzle to
chop suey were offered, fun activities
including a bike track for the kids
and the chance to explore inside a fire

truck. There were also stalls which offered jewellery, clothes, T-shirt design,
face paint and knitted items.
Strathmore Park locals took part in
the activities throughout the day and
joined in with the performers with
singing and dancing.
The event was community organised
with support from the council. The
organisers brought a unique quality
to the event and ensured the festival
reflected the diverse community it
was set in.

How precious is your
unfailing love, O God!
All humanity finds shelter
in the shadow of your wings.
Psalms 36:7

Sunday Service 10-11 am 16 December 2018
Christmas Carol singing for all accompanied by the
pipe organ this Sunday.
Bring yourself, bring a friend, feel the joy of Christmas!
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their plants.

Thursday December 13, 2018

7

8

Thursday December 13, 2018

readers have their say... Find out the WORD on the Street.
Question: In light of some recent high-profile murders, do you feel safe in NZ?

Mary Hart,
Island Bay
“I feel safe in New Zealand,
particularly Wellington. I’ve
lived in Auckland and in a big
city it’s more likely to happen.
NZ is much safer than other
countries.”

Peter Baylis,
Island Bay
“I do. We have to accept we
live in a complicated society
with different cultures.
I walk down the street
every day and I don’t get
harassed.”

LETTERS to the editor

Keryn Hutchens,
Upper Hutt
“I feel safe. I think you are
unlikely to get murdered
here. The murders are an
aberration. We’ve had crime
sprees before.”

Dear Editor:
I am disappointed with pedestrian access
to the new so-called ‘bus hub’ in Kilbirnie
which is operational now. Public transport
in the form of buses should be expanded
not just be reorganized.
In an expanded service there needs to be
direct access from pedestrian safe areas
such as the Kilbirnie shops to the ‘hub’.
Perhaps Paul Franken’s suggestion (CSN,

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Nov 22) of a covered walkway would
suffice by encouraging pedestrians to relax
into that route in any kind of weather and
also get the attention of vehicle drivers.
Or perhaps a pedestrian bridge would be
in order.
The evident lack of interest in this need
by ‘the designers and carry-outers’ Mr
Franken refers to, whoever they are, is
characterised by Mr Franken using a

Dear Editor,
Mayor Lester and WCC councillors who are
responsible for the underlying agendas and
deliberately working against the ratepayers’
wishes have no integrity - they sold out to
big-business long ago.
Mayor Lester ascribes himself as a civic
engineer specialist in deciding to impose
his own personal version for the Island Bay
cycleway, rather than accepting the residents’
preferred option E.
With the impending gentrification of Newtown under our ‘do nothing’ mayor for the
ratepayers and citizens, Lester’s big-business
capitalist system is now out to make lots of
money by transforming old Newtown into a
modern upper working-class suburb under

Come and Join us for a

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There will be card making, decoration making, tree
decorating, a spontaneous drama, singing and a story.
It will be fun for the whole family (we promise)!

little-known verb, concubination, which
the CSN rejects. Now my American dictionary has the noun, concubinage, and the
adjective, concubinary, but no verb form.
However, I think we should give Mr
Franken credit for a logical construction
of such a verb, concubination, meaning
the creation of an illegitimate relationship.
Richard Keller
Wellington

Corey McCullough,
Island Bay
“It’s still a pretty safe country,
there’s just a few bad eggs.
Murders have always been
happening but people are
more aware now because of
social media.”

Appropriate word for illegitimate hub

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Peter Wilkinson,
Southgate
“There is more chance of me
getting run over than murdered.
I’ve been all over the world and
I think here is safest along with
Switzerland. I’m more scared
when riding my bike.”

Continued on page 12.

Letters on issues of community interest
are welcomed. Guidelines are that they
should be no longer than 150 words.
They must be signed and a street address
provided to show good faith, even if a
nom de plume is provided for publication.
The editor reserves the right to abridge letters
or withhold unsuitable letters from publication.
Send or fax them to the address on page two,
or email them to news@wsn.co.nz. Please note
that your name and street address must also be
provided in e mails.

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Peter Chapman,
Brooklyn
“I do. I just think we have a
good caring community and
we look after each other.
There’s possibly a nasty
element in certain parts but
mostly it’s pretty safe.”

Also, keep an eye out for our
changing Nativity Scene in our
window. You can see it from the
Moxham Ave entrance.

the guise of ‘progress’ and why Kiwibank
abandoned Newtown for Kilbirnie.
Newtown is thriving, but rents will rise
beyond the workers ‘and the beneficiaries’
means and leases for the small shop operators
will force them out. Despite the Shelly Bay
demise, the undemocratic changes about to
be imposed upon Newtown will see Kilbirnie
flourish with the onset of a Light Rail hub via
a duplicate Mt Victoria tunnel.
As a senior, I have been deprived throughout
my life more cunningly under Labour governments than National. Winston Peters should
seriously question his coalition partner’s gentrification of Newtown before they destroy it.
Martin Beck
Mornington

Snoopy’s death a reminder
of past cat
Dear Editor;
I dropped a few tears over the
item (CSN Dec 6) about Snoopy
the friendly pussycat who lived
to be aged 16, only to be killed
when a car ran over her. I’m an
unashamed aleurophile, even
though two of the six men who
have agreed to carry my dead
body to the grave are aleurophobes who hate cats! I suppose
the brute-beasts have no life after
this one; but I can’t help hoping
that perhaps they might have one
after all.
I still have fond memories of
Muffie, my loved she-cat who
also died at age 16 in mid-1979;
so it would be nice to think she’s

gone to “the great cat-basket in
the sky”. In cold weather she
would burrow under the counterpane and sleep with me, but
not in the warm weather times:
you can always trust a cat to find
the warmest spot or the coolest
spot as occasion requires! She
was a keen catcher of mice and
birds all her life; but I guess
this wouldn’t be allowed in the
after-life.
At any rate, it’s good to know
that Snoopy had so many friends
at the bus-stop in Kingston - the
tributes to her were very touching.
H Westfold,
Miramar

Thursday December 13, 2018

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12

Thursday December 13, 2018

Chance to get close to
world’s largest rodents
Wellington Zoo is introducing
a new opportunity for patrons to
get close with the world’s largest
rodent next year.
The zoo’s Close Encounters are
an opportunity for visitors to meet
an animal up close; learn more
about them and what they can do
to help them in the wild.
Participants also help Wellington Zoo in their work to save
animals, as 10 percent of proceeds
go towards projects supported by
its Conservation Fund.
The capybara, a type of rodent
mammal native to South America,
shares similar features with the
guinea pig and eats mostly grass,
water plants and vegetables, as
well as fruit and tree bark.
Although capybaras are not
endangered, their population has
been affected by hunting and
habitat loss and it is related to the
tamarin, which is endangered.
Wellington Zoo actively supports a range of conservation
projects to help save animals that
live in the same habitat as the
capybara.
The zoo is home to three adult

Vara, one of the female capybaras in captivity at Wellington Zoo, tends to one of
Iapa’s babies. PHOTO: Supplied

capybaras: One male, Pepe, and females
Vara and Iapa, who is the mother to its
most recent litter of babies.
Visitors can now purchase a Close

LETTERS to the editor

Encounter Gift Card at the zoo, or via
the zoo website, for a unique Christmas
gift. Tickets are $99pp and bookings
will be available in early 2019.

This December, Women’s Refuge is launching
its nationwide Give a Gift appeal asking Kiwis to
donate presents to children affected by domestic
violence this Christmas.
New Zealand has one of the highest rates of
family violence in the world, with an act of
domestic violence reported every five and a half
minutes.
Over Christmas, sadly these numbers surge and
it can be common for women who are fleeing
from violent relationships to leave with nothing,
which includes the presents under the tree.
In December last year, Women’s Refuge’s 40
safe houses around the country were at capacity,
with 1629 children among the occupants.
Women’s Refuge hopes to raise awareness
of the Give a Gift campaign and the plight of
women and children facing Christmas in a
refuge, so that ultimately everyone in their care
can celebrate and open a gift on Christmas.
Local community members can contribute to
Give a Gift – which runs until December 21– by
purchasing a gift and dropping it off at their local
Bunnings store in its dedicated collection boxes.
Big or small, by donating a gift locals will help
bring joy these holidays.

Continued from page 8.

Hubs not serving
their intended
purposes

Width of cycleway
nightmare for
buses

Dear Editor,
The Hub should be the centre of things
around which everything is ordered. Surely
not the thing you are married to!
Now we have a sports hub, right on the edge
of the playing fields, adjacent to residential
houses.
Bus hubs, placed further away from the
shops with not even a toilet or a tap. I suppose
it is correctly named a bus hub if its central
purpose is to save money for the bus owner.
Education hubs are now proposed; the
centre of education should be the pupil, not
a group of unrelated school-boards to hold a
central Christmas party!
Paul Franken
Strathmore Park

Dear Editor,
Driving up Crawford Road into Constable
Street the other day I was shocked at the massive impact the new and ugly cycleway has
made on these two roads. It’s simply ridiculous!
The width of the cycleway is unacceptable
given the width of the roads. It’s obvious buses
will not be able to pass each other - what a
nightmare in the making! It’s also clear that
the congestion this stupidity will cause will do
absolutely nothing for our carbon emissions
goal! What are the roading engineers thinking?
The WCC Councillors and all council officers
involved should all hang their heads in shame.
Daniel Nixon
Vogeltown

Let’s open community centres
to homeless
Dear Editor
We agree with wise old Rose Wu
(CSN Dec 6) saying that Kilbirnie
urgently needs a drinking-inpublic-street liquor ban in Bay
Road shopping area.
Yes and what a good idea to
open up some community centres
overnight to house the homeless,
feed, shower and give a hot meal.
Let’s open the Newtown, Kilbirnie
and Karori centres to solve the
problems.
Councillor Dawson and his evergrowing number of Council staff
shut down the well-attended ‘drop
in centres’ so we have the group
of people who had somewhere to
go now just have no destination so

Women’s
Refuge
launches gift
appeal

they roam the streets and get into
trouble.
The director of community centres (Jenny Rain) could be rostered
on call/duty to help sort out the
downtrodden lost minority ethnic
group that was over-run by the
Pakeha.
Meantime a liquor ban would
allow us law-abiding ratepayers
to see the woman Maori Santa at
Farmers and purchase our clothes
made in Bangladesh. Hohoho.
Merry Christmas to readers and
the best local paper ever!
Tim Dalman
Te Aro

Cyclists are easy target of
systemic problem
Dear Editor,
It is totally outrageous and wrongheaded of Hoffman and Green in their
CSN letter of December 6 to blame
Patrick Morgan for cyclist behaviour
at Island Bay.
Patrick is doing his best to promote
safe cycling through cycleways and
other initiatives like teaching school
kids, including my daughter, about
safe cycling. How ridiculous to blame
him. I guess he is an easy target and
it’s a kind of shoot-the-messenger
mentality.
What critics need to see is that we
have a systemic problem with the
growth of motorised traffic over
decades trying to fit on the tight and
narrow Wellington streets. Walking,

cycling and dare I say double-decker
buses are all solutions to maximising
limited road space.
All these solutions involve everyone
having a willingness to share space
and avoid inflammatory claims like
“The Parade has become increasingly dangerous for pedestrians”. In
Berhampore we still have cyclists
riding on the footpath because there
is no cycleway. Every morning Island
Bay cyclists ride along their cycleway
to Berhampore but when they get here
half of them take their lives in their
hands by riding on the road while the
other half, mainly school kids, go onto
the footpath.
Curtis Nixon,
Berhampore

Public’s views supported
Dear Editor,
I agree with Irene Studman
(CSN December 6) about the
proposed arena on the waterfront - the money should go to

sports facilities for the northern
suburbs.
I also think Ferne McKenzie
has a very good point about
parking needed for tradespeople,

skips, visitors, and people with
children.
Helena Hutchinson
Berhampore

will agree that the bus stop
should be at the closest possible
location from baggage claim. We
do not have five buses lining up
that need all that parking space:
we have one bus (and it rarely
arrives on time, by the way).
I do not understand why almost
every decision made regarding
buses worsens service. Obviously, as people have said at local
meetings about bus changes,

those making decisions do not
ride the bus.
The Airport Flyer should go
down Tirangi Road, enter the
airport the “back way” (the faster
way), drop passengers off at the
departure/check-in level, and
then pick up passengers as close
to baggage claim as possible.
Steve Behrendt
Kilbirnie

Thursday December 13, 2018

13

14

Thursday December 13, 2018

Advertising Feature

School Holidays
A beautiful cottage to visit
Nairn Street Cottage is one of the first
houses built in Wellington. It represents
three generations of one of Wellington’s
originally settlers; the Wallis Family. The
bedroom has hand-carved furniture
by William Wallis who built the house
while the kitchen tells a tale of the 1970s
with a Kenwood Mixer and ‘It’s in the
Bag’ showing in black & white on the

tiny TV that was a classic part of New
Zealander’s introduction to technology
back then. This is a great place to
bring the whole whanau and start to
share stories about your history and
how things have changed over the
years. Tours are on the hour during
weekends. Visit museumswellington.
org.nz for full details.

Art as part of history
In celebration with Suffrage 125, Wellington Museum presents ‘A Cameo
Appearance,’ by Genevieve Packer,
a newly-commissioned, textile-based
artwork celebrating the achievements
of 31 prominent New Zealand women
running through 2019. Set against the

backdrop of the all-male Wellington
Harbour Board, ‘A Cameo Appearance’ questions the acknowledgement
and recognition of women within the
wider history of New Zealand. For more
information visit: www.museumswellington.org.nz

Joy is... Holidays!
Visit us online at

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This December, Capital E is bringing the wild wonderment of children’s
imagination to life with Joy is…
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Visit the dream house (designed
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SUN SAFETY AND SKIN CANCER
Summer is a great time of year when we
can all really enjoy the sun and the time
spent outdoors. However if we are not
careful the sun can be harmful and the
ultraviolet radiation can burn the skin, age
it prematurely damage our eyes and cause
skin cancer.
Levels of skin cancer in New Zealand
are among the highest in the world and we
all need to protect our skin when we are
exposed to the sun. Skin cancer can affect
people with fair skin as well as those with
darker skin. People who have had a skin
cancer before, have an increased risk of
developing other skin cancers and those
people with a family history of skin cancer
also have increased risk of getting skin
cancer.
Being sunburnt often and being severely
sunburnt can increase your risks of getting
skin cancer, but the majority of skin cancer
can be prevented by sun protection. Skin
cancers can be detected early by regular self
skin examination that you can do and also
skin checks by a trained health practitioner.
Look out for any new growths, changes in
size and shape or if you are at all concerned,
then get it checked out by a health professional without delay.
There are a number of things that we can
do for sun safety and skin protection when
we go out into the sun. Slip slop, slap and
wrap reminds us to slip on a long sleeved
shirt, trousers or skirt or slip into the shade,
slop on plenty of broad-spectrum sunscreen
of at least SPF30, slap on a wide brimmed
hat or cap with flaps and wrap on those
sunglasses to protect your eyes.

The time of day that we are out in the sun
makes a big difference to the amount of UV
exposure we get as well. Try and spend time
in the sun in the early morning or later in the
afternoon when the UV radiation levels are
lower. The UV index lets you know the UV
exposure so it helps you to avoid harmful
exposure to UV radiation and can be found
at the following sites:
https://www.sunsmart.org.nz/sun-protection-alert
https://www.niwa.co.nz/our-services/
online-services/uv-and-ozone/forecasts and
https://www.niwa.co.nz/node/111461
If you need to be out in the sun when the
UVI is 3 and higher then do practice being
sun smart and use all the SunSmart steps.
There are many different sunscreens that
are available to be purchased from your
pharmacy and it can be difficult to know
what to choose.
Options available include lotions and
aerosols and they all need to be applied
as instructed to get sun protection. Broadspectrum sunscreens are active against both
UVA and UVB radiation and it is recommended to use these as well as sunscreens
that are at least SPF30.
Talk to your Self Care pharmacist for a
recommendation that’s going to be right for
you, especially if you have sensitive skin.
How much sunscreen do I need to use?
Self Care Pharmacists recommend at least
one teaspoon for each arm and leg and half a
teaspoon for your face, nose, ears and neck.
More people get sunburned on their face
and neck than any other part of the body,
so apply well in these areas and don’t forget

the ears! Apply sunscreen 15 to 20 minutes
before going outdoors and re-apply often
(every 2 hours). This needs to be done
even if it isn’t sunny, as the sunscreen gets
worn off, or rubbed off and comes off after
swimming.
Look after your sunscreens.
Just like our skin, sunscreens ‘age’ in
the sun and heat, and their UV-protecting
properties can be destroyed. So don’t leave
them in the sun, or in the car’s glove box
for too long. Also, don’t keep them past
their ‘use by’ dates as they do lose their
effectiveness.
Sometimes you might be prescribed
medication that can cause you to be more
sensitive to the sun than you usually would
be. This photosensitivity can result in
intense sunburn with redness, pain and
skin peeling.
Photosensitivity does depend on the dose
of the drug as well as the amount of sun
exposure, so if these are at a minimum then
the photosensitivity may not occur.
However, if the photosensitivity does occur and is severe it may be necessary to stop
or change the drug. Drugs that can cause
photosensitivity reactions include some
common antibiotics, such as tetracycline,
doxycycline, some diuretics, and some
anti-inflammatory drugs such as ibuprofen
and diclofenac Talk to your Self Care
pharmacist to find out more information
on these drugs which you may have been
prescribed.
They can also give you a Self Care fact
card on Sun Safety and Skin Cancer to help
you be SunSmart and enjoy the sun safely.

A convoy of police crews, including the Armed Offenders
Squad and dog handlers, con-

FACT OF THE D AY

Trades and Services

2m seasoned pine $180
4m Split pine store for
next winter $330

Large
Kindling $13
theBagsChristmas.
the huge police contingent had collected from staff at
FORgifts
ALLthey
ELECTRICAL
repairsPolice
and College,
Large Bags Dry
Pine/
arrived to deliver
col- New Zealand
Wellington
Hospital Foun$14 chair Bill Day says
hardwood mix
Nationalwith
Headquarters,
lected as partinstallations
of a Christmas
toy Police
dation
by top-qualifi
ed electrician
the Lower
Island patients, families and staff
appeal for therecord
hospital’s
patients.
of over
fifty yearsand
of giving
locals North
the
Free Delivery in Wainui
The initiative saw boxes of gifts and Upper South Island police were overwhelmed by the
lowest cost “around-the-clock”
service,
just
stations. The appeal also gifts and police visit.
Our summer pools were built by us.
phone
977-8787
or
021-0717-674
or email company
included private
“A big part of what we do
Blends in well did cause no fuss.
donations.
is
focused
creating
jack.powell@outlook.com
Trades
andaround
Services
With hydro slide will cause a splash.
Seventeen police cars lined moments of happiness for kids
And to it many people dash.
outside the entrance to in hospital – thing that allow
Situation up
Vacant
Through native bush we twist and wiggle.
the children’s hospital, with them to just be kids.
From the children brings a giggle.
constables and AOS mem“We’re very grateful to DanSevern days a week the place is open.
bers then delivering the gifts iel and NZ Police for bringing
Hot summer days we all are hopen!
throughout the children’s so much joy to children and
hospital wards.
their parents,” Bill says.
Children and staff got to
“The Police have always
meet
the
offi
cers,
wear
their
been
strongSt supporters
over
46 Waione
Petone
Public Notice
hats and check out the inside thePh:years
andOpen
thisSatis9am-3pm
the first
5685989
of the police cars and mobile time
they’vecpa
done
something
Formerly
spares
police
unit.
really
big
to
the
extent of
Wainuiomata Squash Club
Senior constable Daniel this.”
Funeral Director
AGM
Ralph of the NZ Police ColActing charge nurse manN
lege says police were motivat- ager Lynne Cowley says preed by a desire to put a smile senting gifts for her patients
7.00pm
on the faces of those who were would make Christmas for
Monday 30th November
too unwell to be at home for them a little more bearable.
At the Clubrooms

verged on Wellington Children’s
Hospital on Monday.
Don’t worry, as despite the
cacophony of sirens, there was no
major criminal incident. Rather

POOLS OF SATISFACTION

0220831542

51. J.K.
Rowling
chose the
unusual
name
‘Hermione’
Corner of Main Road
so young
and Moohan Streets, Wainuiomata
girls
wouldn’t
Eight
of Newtown School’s 10 recipients of the Ray White Scholarship Awards courtesy of agents Lance
be
teased
Williams (right) and Sonya Jivan (fifth from right). PHOTO:
Jamielocal
Adamsnews
Bringing
for being
nerdy!
to the community

back to primary school children but also to do with
sports.
Newtown School pupils have proven to be very
“We know lots of things have cost but getting
keen when it comes to getting active, with 10 of them involved in sports is such an awesome thing to do and
successfully applying for sports scholarships thanks to we’re lucky in New Zealand we have great outdoor
the generosity of a local real estate agency.
places to do these sports.”
Lance Williams and Sonya Jivan of Ray White KilMore than 100 scholarships have been distributed to
birnie visited the school on Monday to award the $250 schools in the past five years that it has run.
Join us with family and friends for a
scholarships in Lance’s name to the 10 lucky recipients.
This year’s 26 scholarships also went to pupils at
evening of food and wine
Lance, who was a teacher at Newtown School 15 Kahurangi, St Francis de Sales, Lyall Bay, Kilbirnie
Deliverers
Required
in
menu includes fresh oysters, roast lamb, delicious
years ago, says every house he sells creates a sports and Te Kura Kaupapa schools.
salads and dessert
scholarship for a child in the eastern and southern
Lance says the reason Newtown benefited the most
Area 1: Momona, Mohaka, Kawatiri
Kaponga.
suburbs.
was because it had the highest number of parents who
Monday 24th December
“We have had people who have done swimming applied for them.
***Bookings are essential***
lessons, bought new sports gear, gone on trips with
When asked what they planned to use their scholthem,” Lance says.
arships to get involved with, the childrenApplications
mentioned
call (04) 388 55 66 View the
5:30pm
& 7.30pm sittings
are available at our recruitment
Wainuiomata
News
“What’s really important to us is that we can give netball, soccer and skateboarding.
office or at the security gate based in the

Children from five Wellington schools pose with letters on Island Bay beach to show their love of Taputeranga Reserve after 10 years. PHOTO: Te Kawa Robb.

Taputeranga’s 10 years celebrated in style
By Jamie Adams

About 300 pupils from five
Wellington schools – including
four from the southern suburbs –
turned up at Shorland Park to hold
a special presentation on Friday.
They took to the beach to pose
for a photo to show their love for
the Taputeranga Marine Reserve
which turned 10 years old last
week.
Classes undertook several ecoaware activities at Shorland Park
for much of the day, including
turning T-shirts into shopping

bags, identifying marine creatures, sorting out recycling and
learning about the regulations of
the marine reserve.
Prizes were also drawn for
competition winners that included
free tours of the reserve and
Somes Island.
“We did our first snorkel the first
year Taputeranga was established.
We didn’t use this one initially,
we used Kapiti. But because the
reserves got better every year,
now it’s a no-brainer as it’s right
on our doorstep,” director Zoe
Studd says.

The event was organised by
Mountains to Sea, a charitable
trust dedicated to educating the
public about their local environment by getting them participating
in a number of programmes.
By coincidence 2018 has also
been the 10th anniversary of
the trust, which has led 20,000
people, including students from
41 schools, through their programmes since July 2008.
As victims of their own success,
the trust is fundraising for a new
trailer and second-hand truck to
cater for the extra demand for

snorkelling equipment.
While the organisation did receive more than $242,000 in
funding from corporate and charitable sponsors over the 2017/18
financial year, nearly two-thirds of
it went into programme delivery
and hosting events.
“We work out of our trailer.
We go all around the Wellington
region. We don’t have an office,
we just turn up, open up our
trailer and through wetsuits out,”
Zoe says.
“Currently I throw everything
into the back of my car and

while the Wellington team has a
dedicated trailer we don’t have one
for any of the other teams.”
Mountains To Sea’s 10th anniversary will be celebrated further
this Saturday with a free public
snorkelling event at Princess Bay
this Saturday from 10am-3pm.
 The Pledge Me fundraising
campaign finishes on December 19 with the aim of raising
$20,000. They are currently at
about $15,0000. To makle a
donation go to pledgeme.co.nz/
projects/5866.

Classifieds
WHATS ON...
The Community Noticeboard is for
non-profit organisations. For $15.00
you can publish up to 25 words.
No AGMS, sporting notices or special
meetings. Community Notices must
be pre-paid.
Call into our office, phone (04) 587
1660 or email classifieds@wsn.co.nz

School enrolment Scheme
out of Zone Applications open:
2018/2019
Enrolment at the School is governed by an Enrolment
Scheme, details of which are available from the
School office or our school website: www.hataitai.
school.nz
The Board of Trustees has determined that in addition
to accepting all in-zone enrolments there are 5 New
Entrant places available for out of zone students for
2018/2019.
If the number of out of zone applicants exceeds the
number of places available, students will be selected
by ballot.
Deadline for the receipts of applications:
Monday 17 December 2018
Date of Ballot (if required): Tuesday 18 December
2018
To apply, please complete an Out of Zone Ballot Preenrolment form available from our website.
Email completed applications to office@hataitai.
school.nz. Applications must be received by 12
noon, Monday 17 December 2018.
If a ballot is required, parents will be informed of
the outcome of the ballot within 3 days of the ballot
being held.

44236

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Thursday December 13, 2018

SPORT

Record number of Halberg nominees
The Halberg Foundation has announced a
record 93 nominations in six categories for
the 56th Halberg Awards, New Zealand’s
pre-eminent event to celebrate and honour
sporting achievements from 2018.
The awards, held annually since 1963, are
the brainchild of Olympic athletics champion
Sir Murray Halberg to honour sporting
excellence and as a major fundraiser for the
Halberg Foundation.
That is his charity which aims to enhance
the lives of physically disabled young New
Zealanders by enabling them to participate
in sport and recreation.
Forty-three sporting codes are represented
in the nominations, recognising achievements
in 2018 up to November 30.
The evolving international feats of females
in sport has been recognised with 22 nominations from 15 sports for High Performance
Sport New Zealand Sportswoman of the
Year — the most of any category.
The 2017 winner and 2016 supreme Halberg
Award winner canoe racing champion Lisa
Carrington is in the running again.
There are 18 nominations from 12 sports for
the Sportsman of the Year Award.
The list also includes Brodie Retallick (rugby union), Codie Taylor (rugby union) and
David Andrew Liti Olympic (weightlifting),
Five-time winner Sophie Pascoe has again
been nominated for the newly named ISPS
Handa Para Athlete/Team of the Year, with

support from Paralympics NZ.
The Para swimming champion is joined by
nine others.
There are 14 nominations from 10 sports for
the Team of the Year award.
Nominees for the Para Athlete/Team,
Sportsman, Sportswoman and Team categories will all be eligible for the supreme
Halberg Award – the country’s highest
accolade for sporting excellence.
The Emerging Talent category, designed
to assist a young athlete in their quest to
reach the pinnacle in their sport, includes 15
nominations.
The Halberg Awards judges will now review
the nominations to shortlist into finalists who
will be announced in January 2019.
The 56th Halberg Awards will be held on
Thursday February 21, 2019 at Spark Arena
in Auckland.
Other awards presented during the ceremony include; New Zealand’s Favourite Sporting
Moment public vote category, Sport New
Zealand Leadership, Lifetime Achievement
and inductees into the Sports Hall of Fame.
“It is impressive that we have received the
highest number of nominations to be considered by the judges, once again a testament to
the hard work and achievement of our elite
sporting teams, athletes and coaches,” says
Shelley McMeeken, chief executive of the
Halberg Foundation.

Seatoun man part
of national bridge
champion team
Here is a happy man – and he has every
reason to feel on top of the world.
Simon Louisson, from Seatoun, was part
of the Wellington Interprovincial team
who won the prestigious Dougal McLean
trophy in Auckland last month.
The inter Provincials are made up of
four sections: Open, Senior, Intermediate
and Women.
Simon was part of the Intermediate
team, which also included Margaret and
Graeme Dick, and Turei Haronga. They
lost three matches along the way but also
played great bridge to win section by a
sizeable margin.
The Wellington Bridge Inter provincial
Team played outstanding Bridge on
November 24-25 to claim the Dougal
McLean trophy for the third year in a row.
Chef de Mission of the Wellington
Team, Nigel Kearney says that before the
weekend Auckland were the favourites in
Open grade because their team was made
up of four international players, but the
Wellington Team made up by Alan Grant,
Nigel Kearney, Kyle and Anthony Ker
pulled off the incredible feat of winning

ning the girls’ 100m, long jump and
high jump, while Gabrielle Healey took
out the girls’ 200m and 1500m, Phoebe
Gray the girls’ discus and Hugo Jones
the boys’ high jump. Also George Te
Matapuna was joint winner of the boys’
long jump.
Year 8 athletes also fared well, with Ilaria Stefanidis winning the girls’ 200m,
Lachlan Stefanidis the boys’ 100m and
200m, Eliza Squire the girls 1500m and
Phoenix Hague-Smith the girls’ Vortex.

Sports talk

with Jacob Page

That schoolboy rugby
debate blow-up

Simon Louisson celebrates with the
Dougal McLean Trophy and the top Intermediate trophy. PHOTO: Supplied

all their 12 matches and had the event
won before the last three matches on the
final day.

Outstanding results were achieved
by athletes from the Newtown-based
Wellington Harrier Children’s group at
last month’s inter-zone primary schools
athletics championship.
Among the winners at the November
29 event were Xavier James in the
year 4 boys’ 100m and high jump and
George Gray in the year 5 boys’ 800m
and Vortex.
Year 7 athletes did particularly well:
Lucy Skogstad was the standout, win-

The high school rugby player poaching scenario has been a powder keg
waiting to explode for a long time.
Auckland’s St Kentigern College will
now be the scapegoats for this.
If you watched any First XV rugby
game anywhere in the country, rest
assured there were players there playing
purely for their on-field abilities.
Whether it’s players changing schools
in their own regions or players coming
from overseas, nearly every school I
can think of has enticed schoolboy
prospects to play for their school,
usually under the guise of a scholarship.
I attended Marlborough Boys’ College during 2003 - 2007 and it was
abundantly clear as a student, a lot of
the school’s public persona and success
was wrapped up around how the first
XV was going in the Crusaders’ region
secondary school competition.
Secondary schoolboy rugby is a
business.
Success and failure really matters and
the player poaching and the faux rugby
scholarships have been part of the cycle.
The dominance of New Zealand
rugby comes down to two things, the

strong national provincial competition
which is unparalleled globally and the
high standard of First XV rugby.
Whatever happens with this saga
going forward could potentially hurt
the professional game in this country.
Top players in all sports have gone to
bigger schools to further their sporting
futures.
I’ve seen it in basketball, tennis, hockey, cricket and rowing to name a few
over my decade as a sports journalist.
It’s simply families doing what’s best
for their talented kids.
But for every 10 of those instances I’m
sure there’s cases of player poaching.
It just happens that rugby is this
country’s most popular sport.
The past week will have a number of
high profile rugby schools on edge that
they could be next in the firing line of
accusations.
That worst-kept secret in secondary
school sport, that constantly-whispered
issue of schools loading up their rugby
teams, has now become a public topic
of debate.
Watch this space. It has only just
begun.